


Survive.

by FrenziedPen



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: A bad game of hide and seek, Alternate Universe - Horrortale (Undertale), Angst, F/M, Fluff, Horrortale Papyrus (Undertale), Horrortale Sans (Undertale), I would consider this a PG-13 fic, One Shot, With small surprises, light gore, not a very happy fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-08 11:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21475429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrenziedPen/pseuds/FrenziedPen
Summary: After a unfortunate turn of events, you find yourself running through the woods from a familiar and yet not so familiar figure. Fleeing from Sans' grasp proves difficult in the dead of winter, but you find that you'll do what you've always done:Survive.
Relationships: Sans (Undertale)/Female Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Comments: 11
Kudos: 47





	Survive.

_ ‘Survive.’ _

_ ‘Always easier said than done.’ _

You shook your head free of thoughts as you huddled into the hollowed tree trunk that you had found. Although you were trying your best to keep your breath steady and quiet, you were positive that any nearby living being could hear the slight wheezes that pulled from your chest. The sound of your heart thundering in your ears made it difficult for you to focus on the world around you, difficult to listen for any threat that may be approaching. 

You pressed your back against the dying bark and tried to make yourself as small as possible in the small space of the dead tree. As you curled over the bundle that was tied to your chest, you felt your feet attempt to slip from underneath you. The mud beneath your feet threatened to suck you in, covering your threadbare shoes in a cold, wet sludge that left you fighting off a shiver. If it wasn’t for the adrenaline pumping through your veins, demanding you to run, you would already be shivering from the freezing temperature and surrounding snow. You took a few seconds to try to focus on calming yourself as you peeked at your surroundings. You snatched a plum-sized rock that sat beside your foot and held it firmly in your hand before trying to listen to your surroundings once again. 

On the average day, you found solace in the snow. You loved watching the snow blanket the woods, lulling the whole world into a peaceful slumber. However, this time....this time it seemed as though the world was silent with a fearful anticipation. Every living being was holding its breath in fear of what was to come. Before your deep thoughts could overtake you completely, you heard a slight snap come from the other side of the dead tree that you were huddled in. Instinctively, you held your breath, shuffling the bundle on your chest and gripping the rock in your hand tighter. 

As quietly as you could, you changed your stance into a low lunge and pulled your wrist back slightly, aiming diagonally from where your little hidey hole sat. As the crunching of snow got closer, you gave a quick flick of your wrist and watched as the rock flew up in the air. A grungy-looking sneaker paused and turned away from you as the sound of the rock cracked on branches a few feet away. The owner of the sneaker took a half-step towards the noise, then paused before heading in that direction. You slowly counted to five before pulling yourself from the hollowed out trunk and scurrying in the opposite direction that your stalker had gone. 

With one arm wrapped around the bundle tied to you, you ran as fast as you could towards an area of the forest that seemed a bit more dense. He was going to hear you. There was no doubt about that. You assumed that you had two minutes max to find another hiding spot before he found you again. The brisk breeze whipped at your face as you ran, causing your eyes to water slightly. The ground was barren of huge piles of leaves or fallen trees, the snow having buried them for compost earlier in the season. There wasn’t an object in sight that you could hide behind. You inwardly cursed and took a sharp turn before skidding to a near halt and running back in the opposite direction. As you continued forward, you looked back at the ground you had just trampled and found a perfect “T” shape in the snow that would  _ possibly  _ confuse him on which way you went. 

The trees of the forest began to crowd in on themselves with their branches reaching out to grab at pieces of your hair and clothes. You decided that now would be the time to head upwards, did a quick circle around the nearest tree then reached up to the nearest sturdy branch and pulled yourself up. There was a slight huff that escaped you when you were finally able to get your foot up and onto the branch. Crouched, you paused and adjusted your stance before glancing at the distance between yourself and the next sturdy looking branch. You wrapped a hand around the bundle, not wanting to jostle it too much, and gave a quick mumble of encouragement to yourself. You sprung from one branch to another, desperately grasping at the bark with your free hand. Your arm strained and shook as you pulled yourself up enough to sling your elbow over the branch, hanging for a few seconds to catch your breath. 

**“how’si’t ** ** _hangin’_ ** ** , kid?”**

At the sound of the familiar voice, your body stiffened and a cold stream crawled through your heart. A boney hand wrapped around your ankle and gave a sharp tug. There was a slight sting as the bark from the branch on your hand as you were yanked violently from your perch. You curled up as you fell, gasping for the breath that was knocked out of you when you hit the cold, hard ground. The feel of hot breath on your forehead caused you to roll to your left, pausing when the swift sound of a blade whistling through the air met your ears. You pulled back and up, struggling to right yourself into a seated position before taking in the scene before you. 

For a quick moment, you stared at where your head would have been had you continued rolling and found a familiar looking axe dug neatly into the ground. Unlike the average woodcutting axe, this one seemed to made specific for slaughter with a lengthened handle and very wide, sharp head. It had been a while since you had seen the weapon, thinking it to be locked up with the other “mementos”from the past, You swallowed hard and tried to fight against the memories that surfaced at the axe’s appearance. You jolted from your thoughts as a boney hand wrapped around the smooth handle of the axe and gave a slight tug to free the weapon. You glanced up at the owner of the axe as you moved a leg underneath you, prepared to dodge at a moment’s notice. The shrunken white eyelight of the skeleton monster stared at you as his teeth pulled into a wicked grin. A cold feeling pierced through your heart as you took in the malicious look that he was giving you. Your eyes darted from the gaping hole in his skull to his hand as it shifted its grip on the axe handle, moving towards the bottom. 

_ ‘Getting ready for a throw.’ _

You scooted back slightly and squinted your eyes at the light bouncing off the snow - threatening snow blindness if you looked in that direction for too long. 

**“givin’ me the ** ** _cold_ ** ** shoulder?”**

You glanced back up at the skeleton monster and leaned slightly to the left, eyes fluttering from the monster to the trees behind him. His grin seemed to widen slightly as he reached up his other hand to tug at his dead socket. 

_ ‘Don’t respond. Don’t get distracted. You still have a chance.’ _

You slowly reached up and tightened the knot at the back of your neck that held your bundle in place. He eyed the bundle at your chest with intrigue. 

**“ya’ took some food to go? that’s not very n** **_i_**** -”**

Before he could finish his pun, you jolted to the left then pulled back and took off towards the right. As you predicted, the skeleton threw his axe towards the left at full force when you moved. You sprinted past him, nearly dodging his clawed phalanges as you did. You heard him let out a growl of frustration as he quickly pulled himself off the ground and went to grab his axe. As you weaved through the trees, you could hear the crunch of footsteps and labored sounds of the monster behind you. He called out to you, but there was no way you were going to stop yet. 

Your eyes darted as you twisted and turned around the naked trees and bushes of the forest, careful not to trip over anything. Deep down, you hoped that the raised roots and random leftovers of fallen trees would slow down your assailant, but knew that he was too good of a hunter to let Mother Nature work against him. After a few minutes of sprinting, the agonizingly familiar burn in your lungs and throat started up again. You slowed slightly, trying to pace your breathing and noticed a warm feeling running down your right leg. 

You looked down and noticed a trail of ruby specks behind you before inspecting your leg and finding three long gashes down the side of it. 

_ ‘Fuck.’ _

This was just what you needed: a trail of blood and the scent of your weakness calling to the monster’s primal instincts. Taking a few quick seconds of rest against a tree, you ripped a piece of your worn shirt off and wrapped it tightly around the worst of the scratches on your leg. With this new wound, you had no way of hiding now. The scent would be too strong and fresh for him to lose track of it. You stood up and looked around, unsure of where the monster currently was, but positive that he wasn’t too far away. 

An ache gripped your heart at the thought, but you shoved it away as you tried to think of the best way out of this dreadful situation. The cold was beginning to seep into your bones. Your muscles whined at the overusage. Your brain had begun to lose focus. 

Soon, the adrenaline in your bloodstream wouldn’t be enough to keep you warm and moving. 

Soon, you’d run out of the energy needed to flee. 

Soon, you’d run out of hiding places. 

Soon...you’d lose this fight. 

_ ‘Soon, but not yet.’ _

**“let’s just make this easier on the both of us, kiddo.”**

You stiffened at his voice, a mix of familiar warmth and freezing fear curling in your stomach as you turned to face him. You fixed a glare on your face and instinctively changed your stance to a defensive one, legs apart and a hand over the cargo you habored. He took in your stance with a grin, shaking his skull but not making any move to get closer to you. 

**“the quicker ya’ come over here, the quicker this can all be over.”**

You watched him tilt his skull as he spoke. His voice sent a dark, deep concoction of feelings through you, buzzing from your scalp to your toes. Before you could stop yourself, you shifted your hips to one side and huffed out a laugh. You shook your head at his request and watched as he took in your stance, a mix between confusion and amusement glimmered in his eyelight

**“c’mon, it’s** **_snow_**** use trying to get away. we both know this.”**

You snorted at his pun before pulling the stray strands of hair away from your face, careful to keep an eye on him as you did. His eyelight flared then shrunk once again and his grip on the axe tightened. A light chilled breeze swept past the both of you, ruffling your hair and causing his jacket to flutter around. You took a second to look him over and noticed that he had changed his outfit from what you had seen earlier. Instead of the slippers you were used to, he was wearing a pair of grey/white sneakers that looked like they had seen better days. The light blue hooded bomber jacket had a myriad of holes and frayed strands hanging from it, unlike the “house jacket” that he normally wore. 

His outfit….it reminded you of the first time you met him. 

It had been nearly two years since that fateful day and yet, you somehow ended back at square one. 

_ ‘Focus. You’re letting him distract you.’ _

This time with the intention of clearing your thoughts, you shook your head and swiftly turned around, taking off into a quick sprint. A tingling pain settled into your toes and the bottom of your feet as you ran through the trees. Behind you, the sharp whistling of a blade cutting through the air sounded. You ducked and rolled, missing the axe to the back of the head, but slamming into a tree instead. A muffled snap and a small cry echoed in the forest. You yelled out as a piercing pain bloomed in your side, causing you to curl in on yourself. The thrumming in your SOUL reached out to soothe the hurt and shock.

You hadn’t realized that you had shut your eyes until you heard snow crunching near you. You opened your eyes slightly, squinting at the light reflecting off the snow. You gasped in pain as you tried to crawl away from the familiar shoes walking towards you. The skeleton quickened at your movement and launched at your prone form.

With a quick bite of your lip, you attempted to roll out of the way of the blur of motion that appeared before you. You wrapped an arm around the bundle on your chest, careful not to jostle it anymore than you had, as your eye caught sight of a gleam of an axe heading towards you. Using your uninjured leg nestled underneath you, you pushed forward as the axe came down. A heartbeat of a moment passed as you watched as the axe came down on the leg you had just bandaged earlier. There was a searing pain and a distant scream that sounded out as a mix of black and white stars flashed over your vision. You furiously blinked through the warm rush of tears that built in your eyes. Your mouth gaped open and closed, like a fish, as you tried to quiet the sobs that wracked through you.

You made out a boney hand reaching out to grab for you and grab the arm it’s attached to first. The monster before you jolts at the sudden sensation and attempts to pull away from you. Tightening your grip, you clench your teeth and use the skeleton to pull yourself up, hobbling on your severely injured leg. You spat, directly into the skeleton’s working eye socket then promptly shoved the monster as hard as you can away from you. A cry escaped you as you accidentally put weight on your bad leg when you tried to steady yourself from the shove. 

You glanced down at the limb and watch the blood pool around your feet, leaving a ruby red circle in the snow. Rubbing away the tears that attempted to form in the corner of your eyes, you stifled another yelp as you looked back at the skeleton, who was grumbling and wiping at his socket. The axe in your leg didn’t seem to hit the bone but it was deep enough in your skin that yanking it out may cause you more hassle. You breath wavered as you tried to calm yourself. You needed to focus, to come back to square one. You needed to hone in on your next move. Your next step to survival, but deep down...you knew...

You were losing it.

The need to survive. The logical process of trying to find the best places to hide, the right way to run and the correct ways to dodge were leaving your mind. 

Panic was settling in. Your brain had begun to focus on all the wrong things. 

_ ‘Something’s not right. This isn’t right.’ _

_ ‘Why is there so much pain? Will it always hurt this bad? Can I stop this sensation?’ _

_ ‘…’ _

_ ‘Is this a fatal wound? Is this it? Is this the end? Am I going to die? Am I going to  _ ** _DIE?’_ **

**_‘AM I GOING TO DIE?_ _’_**

Another wave of searing pain shot through you as you ripped the axe from your flesh and chucked the blunt end of it as hard as you could. Perhaps you could have used it in self-defense, but you knew you couldn’t fight off a monster and in a fight-or-flight scenario, you were always a “flight.” It smacked against the skeleton’s tibia with a loud crack, pulling a grunt of pain from his teeth. The monster’s eyelight appeared, nearly the size of his socket, and focused directly on you. Your SOUL gave a weak cry at the glare that caused a shiver to run through your body. 

And so, you took off - as best you could - once again. Damn near dragging your leg behind you as you heard the monster yell out in frustration, you willed yourself to use the pain to focus on what needed to happen next. You glanced around as you sped-walked, noticing a large tree with the only decent pile of leaves you had seen in the last few months at it’s base. As you headed towards the tree, a deep chuckle sounded to your left. You frantically glanced in that direction, but found nothing except a cold breeze and endless snow covered trees. When you whirled back around to head towards the large tree, the world around you seemed to go a little fuzzy. Your SOUL clenched and seemed to vibrate slightly before giving out a wave of warmth and reassurance. 

_ ‘Running out of time.’ _

The ground seemed to rise up to meet you as you slammed into it and raised shaky hands to untie the knot that sat on the back of your neck. You checked the corner of your eye as you placed the bundle gently in the pile and covered it slightly with surrounding leaves. You gave a light and quick kiss to the center of your existence before shakily standing and reaching up to yank a nearby branch off the tree. As you stepped away from the nest of leaves, you heard another chuckle to your right. 

You leapt away from the sound and rushed a few feet forward, using the branch as a cane as you caught hints of blue appearing between the trees. 

**“you done running, kid?”**

You cleared your throat and blinked slowly, trying to clear the fuzzy edges of your vision. A small, wary smile appeared on your face when the skeleton monster revealed himself in front of you, leaning against a small tree. On top of the dulled senses from the contact loss of blood, your eyes began to fill with tears. You finally let them roam freely down your face, savoring the little bit of warmth they gave off. 

“Ain’t got much else of a choice, skeleman. I’m on my last _ leg  _ .”

The skeleton watched you give a mixed expression of a wink and a wince and tilted his skull curiously before stepping forward, axe firmly in his grasp. With a heightened amount of malice in his eyelight and a slight limp to his walk, you prepared yourself for the final clash. You braced yourself on your good leg and pulled the decently sized branch - nearly as thick as a baseball bat - up in a defensive position. Little flakes of snow began to fall as the distance between the two of you decreased. You watched as they landed on the branch you claimed as a weapon. You watched as they landed on the skeleton’s jacket. You shivered at the cold breeze that pulled the snowflakes in a serene dance in front of you. It was silent in the world as the skeleton stopped nearly two feet away from you. The two of you gave each other a look over and came to whatever final thoughts were swirling in your minds. 

The skeleton took in your pained, yet soft expression. You held a smile on your face and yet tears streamed down your cheeks and your eyebrows knitted with agony. The branch you decided to use to defend yourself sat rather limply in your grasp. The stance that you took had nowhere near the same conviction as the one you had earlier today, when you were scurrying away from him. You were a broken little creature, not worthy of anything other than death.And yet, something pulled at the monster, causing him to pause for a quick second. 

You watched as he looked you over. The thin clothes you wore caused him to sneer. Your butchered leg caused his eyelight to flare. Earlier, he had seemed like he was ready to hack you down at any moment, but now, you could see his eyelight wavering slightly. His expression morphed into an amalgamation of concern and wicked cruelty. The sight of such conflict caused your throat to constrict as you let out a wailing sob. The sound jolted the monster from his stupor and wiped any form of concern from his skull. 

You were about to die. 

He reached forward and grabbed the collar of your shirt, yanking you towards him. You cried out as your wounded leg stumbled underneath you. The skeleton growled as you fell to your knees, limply hanging in his grasp. 

**“get up.” **

The only response you gave was a loud wail as you reached up to grasp at his phalanges, dropping the branch you had previously claimed. The skeleton shivered slightly at the sound of your sobs, noting that they sounded different from the normal fear-filled cries that came from his prey. He growled as he pulled your face closer to him. His eyelight flickered back and forth between your eyes, searching for something. With a huff, he threw you back towards the ground and waited to see what your next move would be. 

You hissed as your weight landed on your injured leg. As you pulled yourself up slowly, you saw him shuffle and raise his axe to rest on his shoulder. There was a sudden chill that gripped your SOUL that caused you to gasp when you met his gaze once again. He gripped at his eyesocket and grit his teeth as your SOUL shuddered before shaking his skull. . You watched as he raised his axe over his head and let loose a dark chuckle. 

* * *

He couldn't wait any longer. There was something about you that was making him second guess himself. As if he didn't  _ need  _ to kill you. As if he had the  _ choice  _ of letting everyone starve.

He watched as fear finally clouded your vision and chuckled when you put your shaking hands up. You tried to cover your face as your SOUL thundered with panic and terror. As he brought the axe down in a diagonal swing, aiming for the open section of your neck, he saw you open your mouth and…

“Sans, pleas-”

His SOUL froze as the sound of his name on your lips jolted through him. He tried to will his hand to stop, but the blade was already a mere inch from your neck before you had whimpered out the words. 

It was too late. 

The axe dug itself into your neck, cutting off your air before you could finish your plea. Warm, red liquid poured from the new wound as Sans fell to his knees in front of you. The panic in your eyes dimmed as he pulled the axe from you and flung it as far away as he could. As he pulled you into his embrace, he heard the dull thunk of the weapon embedding itself in a nearby tree. He frantically placed a boney hand on the severed flesh of you neck and pressed down, hoping to stop the bleeding, not noticing how the blood seemed through his phalanges. 

He pulled you into his lap and watched as you stared up at the snow-covered trees, wonder erasing the fear that once lived in your gaze. His eyelight flared and shrunk rapidly when you turned your head to meet his gaze. Your chest shuddered slightly as you inhaled, wheezing, clearly trying to let him know something. His eyelight flicked from your eyes to your lips as he tried to decipher what message you were trying to convey. The expression on your face bloomed into something serene as your eyelids began to flutter. 

Sans’ SOUL clenched as he felt you begin to go limp in his arms, watching as a single teardrop fell onto your cheek. At the feeling of the liquid rolling down your cheek, you glanced up and took in the torn expression that claimed Sans’ skull. His eyelight wavered as it watched your hand weakly reach up and brush across his cheekbone, banishing any tears that had been there. He let go of the gash on your neck and went to wipe the stray blood spray that sat on your cheek, accidentally smearing the blood with what was on his hands. A sob welled up in the skeleton as he used his jacket sleeve to wipe your cheek clean, noticing the small curve of your lip that appeared at his touch.

**“sweets, i-i….i’m s-...i don’t-...please....”**

He didn’t know what to say. How could he apologize? How could he tell you all the ways he loves you? How could he freeze time and gain a few more seconds with you? When your HP slowly begins to drop in the single digits, Sans closes his socket and pulls you even closer to his chest. He couldn’t watch the constant decrease of your HP...knowing...just knowing that he was the reason for all this. The skeleton felt the welling of another sob in his chest and clenched his teeth in frustration. 

You let loose a sigh that brushed against Sans’ cheekbone before his world completely crumbled. The wail that he had been holding back began in his SOUL, gathering all the pain from within him and releasing it in a roar that caused nearby trees to tremble. He refused to open his sockets. Instead, his hands tightened into an almost bone crushing grip as he brought your body in and wrapped himself around you. The heartbeat that he had used to calm himself so many times in the past was no longer there. It’s soft thrum never to be heard again. The warmth beneath your skin already seemed to be giving way to the chill that currently commanded the air. He ran his claws to the tangle of your hair and pulled your forehead to his teeth. He sat there, feeling you grow colder, as he let his tears flow unendingly into your locks. 

Evening had begun to fall over the snowy woods when Sans’ was finally able to pull himself from the makeshift grave he made near the bottom of the large tree in the clearing. He wasn’t sure how long he had been standing at the foot of the grave, but by the time he had moved, night had officially enveloped the land. As he turned, he flinched at the incessant ringing that had been echoing in his skull for the past few hours. The bone between where his eyebrows would have been scrunched as he reached up and gripped at his dead eyesocket. The noise wasn’t as loud as it had been earlier; however, he wasn’t sure if that was from him tuning it out or it simply dying down. He sighed and supposed he should head back home. He needed to tell Papyrus what had happened. Tell his little brother that he had finally lost control and….that his mate had been the one to pay for it. 

His SOUL clenched as he thought about the conversation he would have to have with Paps. He gripped at the tightness in his chest as he headed away from the gravesite. He hadn’t been able to make it more than a few steps before falling to his knees. The pain in his SOUL jolted through him and demanded that he not move from that spot. 

As he tried to ground himself through the pain that coursed through him, the ringing sound stuttered before growing louder once again. He closed his sockets as the noise echoed in his skull, now seeming like less of a ringing and more of a keening noise. Like a small animal. Or a-!!!

Sans felt the ground beneath his claws crumble as he scrambled towards the base of the large tree. There was a pile of leaves a little passed where the gravesite sat. The skeleton’s eyelight flared then shrunk to a near pinpoint size as a hardly noticeable rustle stirred the leaves. He propped himself on his knees in front of the leaves and hoped, deep down in his SOUL, that he was wrong. He gently reached out and brushed away a few of the top layer of leaves. The creature that had been keening, quieted, cooed then blinked up at him with an owlish expression. 

A baby bones.

Sans jolted, slightly flailing as he fell on his coccyx and stared at the lump of leaves in front of him. His SOUL was damn-near vibrating at this point. Flashes of you appeared in his mind. Grasping at the bundle on your chest. Protecting it at every turn of the chase, even when it inconvenienced you. It made sense now. 

A baby bones. 

The white eyelight in his lone working socket wavered as it rapidly switched from blown to pinprick sized. He reached out and let a hand hover over the baby’s skull, watching as it reached out with little hands and grasped at his thumb. The tears that Sans’ thought had dried out rushed down his cheekbones once again as he quickly pulled the child into his arms. 

** _His baby bones. _ **

His SOUL shivered from the contact and a rush of emotions visions clouded his mind as he tried to stand. He fell to one knee and scrunched his sockets closed before the tears could fully blur his vision.

* * *

Sans took a deep breath and nearly drooled at the smell of homemade garlic bread that wafted through the air of the home. He stood in the doorway and found himself smiling fondly at you as you glided around the tiled kitchen floor. He sighed as his eyelight followed the sway of your hips as you tiptoed from cabinet to stove to refrigerator. When Papyrus called earlier to tell both of you that he had made Honor’s List at his University for the recent semester, you excitedly whispered that you wanted to make a celebratory pasta dinner and took off towards the kitchen.

**“what’s cookin’, good lookin’?”**

He sauntered up behind you and began to wrap his arms around when you suddenly snatched his wrists and held them out and away from you. He made a noise of concern before you looked over your shoulder and up at him. You smiled fondly as you nodded your head towards the swaddled bundle on your chest. You giggled softly as he rested his head on your shoulder and gently pulled his hands from your grasp to rest them on the baby, who was sleeping soundly. You gave him a chaste kiss on the cheekbone before turning your attention back to the sausage cooking in the pan in front of you.

Sans began to untie the baby wrap from behind your back before gently transferring the baby into his arms. Instead of wrapping the baby to his own chest, he cradled the little one in the crook of his arm before heading out of the kitchen to set the dining table. He glanced down at the little one and noticed how bright her bones seemed today. The little baby bones took after her father, as a skeleton monster, but reminded him of his mate every time he made her smile. There was a slight thumping noise before the clatter of something metallic hitting the kitchen tile. A muffled curse sounded before Sans saw you appear in the living room with mitted hands full of plated delicacies. Sans raised an eyebrow bone and nodded towards the kitchen, but only received a shake of the head and pouty look. He chuckled and rose to help clean up whatever mess you had made in the kitchen, so you could take care of the dinner table. 

By the time the two of you had the table set, the sound of the front door unlocking and slamming open let you know that the guest of honor had arrived. Sans glanced down at the baby bones in his arms, making sure the noise didn’t wake her, before taking a seat at the table. 

“We’re in the dining room, Papyrus,” you called out, as you wiped your hands on your apron before taking it off and tossing it on a kitchen counter. You heard a bunch of commotion towards the front entryway of the house as you took your seat at the table. The sound of Papyrus’ voice - although not as loud as it once was - made you sigh in relief that your baby girl was used to loud noises. Before the baby had been born, Papyrus had learned his lesson about being too loud around the house after a vehement scolding from a very pregnant and very tired you. Sans’ younger brother still had his moments, but overall respected the noise level of the house.

“Is That Pasta That I See? Perhaps…...Sausage Rigatoni?!?!?!!” Papyrus’ eyelights seemed to expand and sparkle as he noticed the side dishes that you had made to go along with dinner. “Salad!!! And Garlic Bread!?!?!??! What Is This Glorious Feast For?” Sans’ low chuckle jostled the baby bones in his arms as you explained to Papyrus why you went all out for dinner tonight. A slight flush appear on the tall skeleton’s skull before he murmured out a ‘thank you.’ 

The table grew quiet as everyone stuffed as much food into their bodies as possible. Throughout the meal, you peeked at the boys and felt your SOUL swell with pride at the satisfied looks on their skulls. No longer having to go through the traumatic experiences of the Underground, Sans and Papyrus looked a lot better than they did when you first met them. Sans, already a stout skeleton - however that may happen, seemed to have grown a bit more in size over the past few months. Although you hadn’t been able to get the metal plate for his head injury yet, he didn’t seem as bothered by it as he once had been. Sans didn’t care for crowds or small spaces; however, with that there was less socket pulling and fewer urges to hunt. Papyrus, on the other hand, had transitioned into his new life a lot easier. The moment his citizenship had been granted, he applied for University and expanded his social circle. A few months after he’d grown accustomed to the class schedule and homework, you’d purchased him a pair of braces - much to his surprise. Now, with his teeth nearly straight, his voice not as loud and actual ingredients to cook with, Papyrus was on his way to becoming one a well-seasoned chef. 

Towards the end of the meal, Papyrus leaned over Sans’ shoulder to see his niece. “How’s Helvetica Been Today?” You quickly swallowed the garlic bread you had stuffed in your mouth before smiling brightly at Papyrus. “She’s been an angel, like usual. There was barely a peep out of her all day, but……” Both the skeleton monsters paused in their chewing at your hesitation. Your cheeks gained a light shade of pink as you looked back and forth between the two monsters. “She eats like crazy. I can barely put her down before she begins to cry for more milk,” you laughed out the last bit of your statement. The two skeletons you had grown to call family over the past two years joined you as you chuckled. 

As you and Papyrus cleared the table, Sans wandered off to settle with Helvetica on the couch - creating a small nest for her to lay in out of the throw blankets that normally sat in the living room. Once all the food had been properly stored and the dishes had been cleaned, you turned to see Papyrus heading upstairs. You glanced over at the clock on the stove before making your way over to where Sans sat. “Are you headed to bed early tonight, Paps,” you asked, as you snuggled into your mate’s side. You sighed as Sans’ arm wrapped around your waist and pulled you until you were nearly melded to him. Papyrus paused on the top of the steps and stared down at the three of you with a soft smile. His braces glinted from the dim, warm light in the living room. “I Was Invited By Mettaton And Muffet To Come Out And Participate In Karaoke At Dream Sing.” You hummed in response while Sans gave his younger brother the normal spiel about being safe and keeping his phone on. 

After Papyrus left for the evening, the two of you remained cuddled on the couch - barely watching the documentary about space that was currently playing on the tv. Your eyelids wavered as the images of universes, galaxies, moons and stars faded in and out on the screen.

“I’m surprised we didn’t name Helvetica after some star,” you murmured. Sans chuckled and squeezed your side in response.  **“i won’t say it didn’t cross my mind. just thought i would keep up with skeleton tradition.”** You nodded and glanced up at him. “I get that...but, I wouldn’t have been opposed to calling her Andromeda.” Sans watched you close your eyes as he pressed his teeth to your forehead.

**“we’ll keep that for the next one.”**

“That won’t be happening anytime soon,” you scoffed. 

The skeleton monster raised an eyebrow bone at you, while his permanent smile turned into a devilish grin. You pulled away from your mate, placing your hands defensively between your bodies. 

“Ooooooh no you don’t. Don’t even think about i-!” 

Your protests were cut off with a kiss that sent a warm tendril that traveled down your spine, through your stomach and curled in your toes. Sans’ grin widened even more at the breathy sigh you gave, letting his hands make the way around yours to grip at the back of your neck and your side. You yelped as his claws gripped at the soft part of your stomach. “That tickles,” you whined between giggles as you tried to move your face away from his insistent kisses. With a low purr-like noise, his teeth moved from your lips to your neck as his hands made their way under your shirt and gripped at the sensitive skin again.

“Sans~!!!,” you whined as you squirmed under his touch, reaching out to grab at one of his ribs. As a low growl sounded from your mate, you peeked an eye open to check on Helvetica. The warmth of his hand traveling up your front, gliding across your skin, caused a tingle in your scalp.

**“stars, i love you.”**

The scrape of his teeth against your collarbone caused you to lean your head back and let loose another passion-filled sigh. Before you could respond to his words, he nibbled at you and continued to speak.

**“the look of you. the smell of you. everything about you.”**

You hadn’t realized how far back you had leaned until your back hit the arm of the couch. Sans pulled back and glanced between your splayed pose and the baby’s nest area. “We should move, love,” you murmured, gazing up at him with a look that sent his primal side into overdrive. 

The two of you toppled towards the floor, careful not to jostle Helvetica with your movement. Sans nuzzled the space between your breasts, before pausing and glancing up at you. With his face more or less hidden in your bosom, you returned his gaze only to find a gleam in single eyelight. 

“Sans,” you warned softly, gripping his shoulders and attempting to push him away. You felt him inhale, holding a deep breath in his non-existent lungs, before ignoring your squeaky protests to blow a raspberry promptly on your left breast. 

As the sensation vibrated through you, you giggled and reached out to push him away from you. He chuckled as he inhaled and moved to raspberry your boob again. 

You reacted before you could think. 

One hand gripped at his neck vertebrae, fingers teasing the backside of his clavicle.

Your other hand gripped at the sharp edges of the hole that marred Sans’ skull. The growl that came from your mate caused you to let go immediately, sending a cold shiver down your spine. 

Sans’ eyelight flared, widening to nearly the size of a golf ball before he scrunched his sockets closed. He gripped at his forehead, one hand tugging at his socket - trying to ground himself. He couldn’t see your worried expression as you sat up, warily eyeing him. 

He had had episodes before. There were plenty of moments in the night where you would wake up with his eyelight near gone and his hand around your throat. Plenty of times when you would pick up a knife at the wrong time and end up face down on the kitchen tile. Normally, all it took was a few guided deep breaths and soothing words to get him to come back to you. 

This time though…

This time was different. 

“Babe…,” you called softly, testing the waters. You immediately got into a crouched stance when a low rumble pulled from his chest.

Helvetica cooed in response to her father’s growl and Sans’ head snapped in her direction. You felt the gasp that you had been holding back bubble in your throat and turn into a small anguished sound. Before Sans’ claws could reach the baby, you jump up and snatched Helvetica, holding her tight to your chest. Your heart raced, thudding in your ears, as you stood on the other side of the room and gazed at Sans. He stared at you with a torn expression, seemingly confused by the sudden rage that took over him. Helvetica cooed again in your arms and you spared a glance down at her to make sure that she was ok. 

As Sans let out a neverending growl, you grabbed the thin blanket you snatched along with Helvetica, wrapped and knotted it on your back, securely tying your 2 month old to your chest. 

“Love...,” you called again, but you weren’t sure he could hear your soft tone over the reverberating growl that nested in his chest. Before you could even think to say another word, the skeleton monster launched towards you. His teeth snapped violently as you ducked and slid away from his grasp. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see him reaching out to grasp the stray strands of hair that fluttered about. You glanced back one more time, noting the shrunken eyelight that followed your movement before you slipped into a mode of thought that you hadn’t had to use in a long time.

_ ‘Bug-out bag.’  _

Your head whipped back and forth as you ran through the house, skidding around corners and looking for the backpack that you normally had sitting by the bottom of the steps - in case of emergencies. For some reason, it wasn’t there and you hissed out a curse under your breath. As your eyes darted around the room, you heard Sans rumble behind you and ducked, wrapping a hand around your chest to steady the bundle that rested there. You reached out and grabbed a nearby blanket, tossing it at the snarling monster behind you. He thrashed as the blanket landed over his skull, tangling in his claws and head injury. Your feet slapped against the hardwood floor as you ran towards the entryway of the home. 

_ ‘Shoes.’ _

The only shoes that you could find by the door were the ratty ones that you had kept from your Underground days. With only a quick glimpse behind you, you slipped on your shoes and threw the front door open. If it hadn’t been for the rapid heartbeat that thundered in your ears, you would have flinched at the crack of the doorknob punching a hole in the wall. You kept a steady hand on your bundled baby as you made your way towards the trees, ignoring the slight chill that ran up your legs from the snow that crunched under you. You took a quick rest at the treeline, trying to calm your panting as you listened for Sans’ approach. There was a scarce amount of brush amongst the woods and you felt the worry and panic curl in your belly. 

_ ‘How?’ _

_ ‘Where am I going to hide?’ _

You moved behind a tree and leaned on it, frustratedly rubbing away the tears that tried to find shelter in the corner of your eyes. There was a soft, little kick against your chest that caused you to look down and peek into the bundle you held tightly. Helvetica’s eye sockets blinked up at you, sleepily, and you bent down to give her a light kiss on the top of her skull. You pushed up from the tree, squinting into the woods and trying to focus on staying calm. 

You took a deep inhale before letting out a long exhale and giving yourself quick pats on the cheeks. After the pick-me-up slaps, you took off towards the west. Dead trees. Dried bark. The crunch of snow and the occasional dead leaf beneath your feet. After a few minutes, everything was starting to look the same, which didn’t bode well for your burning lungs. 

_ ‘What am I going to do?’ _

Your eyes darted through the woods, looking for a suitable hiding spot to catch your breath. After a few more wide strides, you noticed a particular tree that seemed to have a hole the size of a small child hollowed out of the bottom of it. You huffed out a chuckle as you hunkered into the tree, feeling your lungs flutter into a slight panic as they tried to expand. 

_ ‘Survive.’ _

_ ‘Always easier said than done.’ _

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I hope you've enjoyed my first attempt at a One-Shot Fic and at writing something with the Horrortale bros. I don't have much to say on this story other than it was stuck in my head and I felt like I had no choice other than to get it out on "paper." To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted from this story, but it somehow wrote itself and with a bit of fine tuning I think I'm pretty pleased with it. 
> 
> I hope to write more one shots in the future, as it seems I have issues with keeping up with my multi-chapter fics. Feel free to leave comments, kudos and critiques and I'll see y'all next time!
> 
> Toodles~


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